I suggest you read the article. Of course, Japan knew for quite some time that they had lost. They knew they would eventually have to surrender but they hoped to drag it out for a while to get better terms so that it wouldn’t have to be unconditional.
The Soviet entry into the war invalidated all remaining hopes of holding out for a better deal and it became imperative to capitulate as soon as possible.
The point of the article isn’t to say that the Soviets won that entire war, it’s to debunk the popular myth that the atomic bombs were what pushed the Japanese over the edge to capitulate when they did. The facts simply do not support that interpretation of history.
I suggest you read the article. Of course, Japan knew for quite some time that they had lost. They knew they would eventually have to surrender but they hoped to drag it out for a while to get better terms so that it wouldn’t have to be unconditional.
The Soviet entry into the war invalidated all remaining hopes of holding out for a better deal and it became imperative to capitulate as soon as possible.
The point of the article isn’t to say that the Soviets won that entire war, it’s to debunk the popular myth that the atomic bombs were what pushed the Japanese over the edge to capitulate when they did. The facts simply do not support that interpretation of history.